Discussion

“Is anyone else getting fed up with the large numbers of noisy seagulls making a mess of our city? I live in Bedminster and would estimate there are as many as 50 of them nesting on the nearby rooftops. The ear-piercing racket they make all through the day and night is unbearable at times and makes it impossible to get a good night's sleep. Not to mention the mess they create on our windows and vehicles... What's the best way to deal with this as it's driving me to distraction!”

22 replies

I have this problem too. The council were supposed to come and replace the eggs - unfortunately (despite calling them to remind them) with usual BCC efficiency they arrived the day after it hatched. I am looking forward to 4 months of being woken at 4am. Unfortunately the dog won't claim onto the chimney to eat them either :(

@Dog_Walker123 Yes the eggs hatched here too before the council got around to switching them, I'm not convinced that programme is the best way reduce numbers to be honest. I've read that there are now more than 2,000 PAIRS of seagulls in Bristol! Anyone who thinks I'm over-exaggerating has no idea how noisy they are 24-7, it's like something out of a Hitchcock film.

@Dog_Walker123: "So were rats, cockroaches, bacteria, etc. It doesn't mean we shouldn't get rid."
Nothing wrong with rats or cockroaches, if you don't surround yourself with rubbish your paths would never cross. You wouldn't be alive at all if there was no bacteria.

@polyphase. Precisely. It is good practice to clean one's home to minimise interaction with them (rats and bad bacteria). The same goes for seagulls (rats with wings). Unfortunately I'm not really up for knocking my chimney off my house. I think I will bundle a load of chicken wire up there once they have flown off for the winter though.

Is anyone else getting fed up with the large numbers of people spending disproportionate amounts of precious, precious time in consideration of pathetic concerns like this?
Shoot, them, 'shoo' them, poison them - whatever you've got to do just don't bother the world with your mundane ramblings.

""They were here before you were Laura."
@polyphase, Really? I suppose you have confirmation? It's likely they could've been - a gull can live over 40years but that would still make them younger than me so to hell with them. And if they are nesting on rooftops and chimneys well, which came first there? I would suggest the chimney. Gulls don't nest in trees, which would've preceded the chimneys, so wrong there too. Also, smarty pants, being an old codger I can assure you this was not a problem 30 years ago. At least not in any significant way so there! Pedant 1, Smarty pants 0.

@chuck2011: I'll rephrase what I said so that you can understand - There were gulls here before Laura was here, savvy? Also, many thanks for assuring me this was not a problem 30 years ago. However, I was here 30 year ago and can assure you there were plenty of gulls back then and some people whinged about them then just as they do today.

To be honest i think it's the people making a mess of the city which is causing the high number of Gulls who then, like all creature, have to sh*t somewhere! If people cared a bit more and stopped littering so much on the street, in parks and even right next to the bins! There would be less about picking up the food. Perhaps the council need to focus on making sure people keep their litter in the bins instead of getting rid of birds.

My apartment is right in the centre of town, I can hear them all day and all night, it is so irritating! Especially as I work from home!
Sometimes they swoop down on me when I come out onto my balcony.
I have thought about buying an air rifle but I think it's illegal to shoot them ha. Shame :(